House takes up mortgage relief plan
WASHINGTON – The House of Representatives will take up legislation today that would broadly address the nation’s housing crisis and could have the government assume control of up to $300 billion in refinanced home loans to be given to distressed homeowners.
The measures are the Democrats’ effort to take the lead in addressing an economic crisis dominating American life and, increasingly, the presidential campaign.
The full House will vote on the FHA Housing and Homeowner Retention Act, which is being pushed by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., chairman of the Financial Services Committee. It seeks to expand Federal Housing Administration refinancing efforts to help at-risk borrowers who could lose their homes to foreclosure.
House lawmakers also will take up a bill to authorize the federal government to provide $15 billion to allow state and local governments to award loans and grants to purchase and rehabilitate owner-vacated foreclosed homes. The idea is to prevent properties from sitting on the market for long periods, inviting crime and dragging down prices of nearby homes.
They’ll also take up a measure from the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee to give a $7,500 tax credit for first-time homebuyers. The tax measure also would increase by $10 billion the amount of tax-free bonds that can be made available by states to help first-time homebuyers with low incomes and for construction of low-income rental housing.
Implicit in the Democrats’ legislation, which won bipartisan support coming out of the two committees, is the view that efforts by the Bush administration and the private sector have been inadequate.
The House bills seek to amend legislation passed by the Senate. Frank has pledged to get legislation to President Bush by July 4. In a move to bring more Republicans on board, the Democrats’ legislation includes changes called for by the White House, namely the modernization of the FHA and new rules for quasi-government mortgage bundlers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
But the loan-guarantee proposals are controversial. Bush hasn’t threatened a veto, but the Department of Housing and Urban Development issued a scathing news release late Tuesday that implied one.
The House legislation won support Monday from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and hasn’t drawn criticism from Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, the administration’s point man on the housing crisis.
But the HUD statement said its FHASecure program is successfully helping to refinance distressed mortgages while maintaining strict underwriting standards.